Outlawed pig makes appearance at rally

Kelle Bruckman, left, of Lakewood and Rylee Kontny, of Seal Beach feed Bubba in front of the crowd of Bubba supporters at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. Protestors gathered to keep Seal Beach from banning pigs in the city and to support Bubba the 235-pound pot-bellied pig.ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

As performed at the rally for Bubba Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Seal Beach pier

SEAL BEACH – A cheery crowd of over 100 rallied at the Seal Beach pier Saturday afternoon to show support for Bubba, Seal Beach’s 235-pound, outlaw potbellied pig.

Local singer Karen Hadley led the pig’s supporters in a refrain of “Don’t send Bubba to hog heaven” before he was announced as the new mascot of local restaurant Beachwood BBQ.

Then Bubba showed up and people flocked to him to say hi, give the five-year-old a pet and take a picture.

“I say we make Bubba part of this community, make him a celebrity, put Bubba on a goodwill tour through the elementary schools so we don’t have to go through this again,” said performer Lucky John, who emceed the rally.

It came two weeks after Seal Beach moved to clarify and strengthen the city’s existing ban on pigs. That brought media to Bubba’s house by the beach to find out what prompted the ordinance, which is up for ratification at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Seal Beach city code already bans hogs, which the city defines as male pigs weighing over 120 pounds. That means Bubba has been illegal in the city for years, and city officials say they’ve been trying to enforce the code for at least a year.

“I think it’s a stupid ordinance to begin with, because potbellied pigs are known for being good pets,” said Meghan Fife, a local resident who attended after hearing about the controversy on TV Friday night.

“If they insist on changing it, then at the very least they should grandfather him in,” she added.

Bubba’s owners, Madonna and Eric Grimsley, and others at the rally said they don’t believe Bubba is a hog because he’s not being raised for meat.

“Hogs are raised for breeding or slaughter; he’s been raised for neither,” Madonna Grimsley said. “He’s never been on a farm, he wouldn’t know what to do on a farm.”

The Grimsleys acknowledged they have received several citations from local animal control officers after neighbors complained about Bubba’s noise and stench, though some neighbors who attended the rally said Bubba causes no problems.

The couple plan to make their case to the council on .

City Councilwoman Ellery Deaton appeared at the rally, but did not address the crowd. She said that Bubba isn’t the subject of the pig ban as he’s already banned under city code.

“This is not about Bubba; this is about what is right for Seal Beach,” she said.

It may take the passage of that ordinance for the city to follow up on its citations against Bubba. A Seal Beach police officer didn’t intervene when Bubba was brought out while another, off-duty Lt. Bob Mullins, walked through the rally.

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Kelle Bruckman, left, of Lakewood and Rylee Kontny, of Seal Beach feed Bubba in front of the crowd of Bubba supporters at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. Protestors gathered to keep Seal Beach from banning pigs in the city and to support Bubba the 235-pound pot-bellied pig. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Taylor Pixton, left, looks down at her sister Meg Pixton and their dog Coach while rallying in support of Bubba, the 235-pound, pot-bellied pig, With them is their mother, Courtney Pixton, at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sharman Snow, an animal activist from Seal Beach, holds a sign in support of Bubba, the 235-pound pot-bellied pig at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bubba made an appearance Saturday at a Seal Beach rally on his behalf. The city is strengthening its ordinances to ban pigs in the city. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Kim Richardson of Signal Hill holds a sign in support of Bubba, the 235-pound pot-bellied pig at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. Protestors gathered to keep Seal Beach from banning pigs. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Karen Hadley, a musician who wrote a song about Bubba, cheers with the crowd that gathered in support of the 235-pound pot-bellied pig at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Meg Pixton of Huntington Beach pets her dog Coach while rallying in support of Bubba, the 235-pound pot-bellied pig. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bubba walks past the crowd at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. Protestors gathered to keep Seal Beach from banning pigs in the city and to support the 235-pound pot-bellied pig. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bubba walks past the crowd at Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach on Saturday. Protestors gathered to keep Seal Beach from banning pigs in the city and to support the 235-pound, pot-bellied pig. ANIBAL ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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